Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Isabella
and Kawishiwi Rivers, Basswood Lake: Two Trips in One

September
6-19, 2011

Page
1: Overview

The
Plan

This
trip is the second one for me this year. My
original plan was for a 10- to 14-day solo trip on the Isabella and
Kawishiwi Rivers with a possible side trip in the Numbered Lakes.
Over the summer, my friend Sandy spoke longingly of going back to
the BWCA, where she had spend many vacations as a kid. We worked
out a plan where I would do a week’s solo trip and meet her
to continue the trip tandem. I would enter at EP34 (Island River),
do part of the Kawishiwi Triangle, and get a site on Lake One. She
would bring a tandem canoe, we’d switch boats, and spend the
next week exploring the Numbered Lakes and maybe Lake Insula as well.

It
worked out, but not as we anticipated.

My
plan to do the Kawishiwi Triangle involved heading northwest
through Clear Lake and then east on the North Kawishiwi River. I
decide not to go there after a few struggles with the Knu-Pac carrier. It’s
an unstable rig that puts the boat’s center of gravity too high
and allows it to slip sideways. I don’t want to risk difficulties
on the long and tough portages. I also learn later that the Clear
Lake end of the 175-rod portage includes about 30 yards of hip- to
waist-deep mud. The Triangle will be there if I come back another
time.

The
Boats

Solo: Mad River Independence (15’8”,
fiberglass with wood trim) with movable center thwart for use with
the Knu-Pac portaging backpack frame, totaling about 50 lbs. with
two paddles.

The Food

Breakfast: granola with dried blueberries,
raisins and currants, and a half-and-half mix of instant nonfat
dry milk and Nido
Milk.

Lunch: bannock, beef jerky and trail mix.

Snacks:
see Lunch.

Dinners: Several Hawk
Vittles and Mountain House dehydrated meals as well as a few
homemade meals using freeze-dried chicken and eggs,
and a variety of dehydrated ingredients such as gnocchi,
couscous, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes. Several dinners are accompanied
by Cache Lake fry breads, a few others with cheese and onion
bannock. Desserts are chocolate pudding and Chambord.

We use a BearVault 500 because of the beef jerky,
which is aromatic no matter how well it's sealed. An item of good
news is that neither of us ran out of TP.

The Map

The bow and stern map cases are hung from thwarts
so they're always visible when paddling and don't have to be carried
separately on portages. A map of the area can be found here (opens
in a new window). Leave the map open and you'll be able to follow
along with the rest of the trip.

Day 0 – Tuesday, September 6 – Through
the Portal Partly

The
trip from Stoughton takes the usual 7-1/2 hours with minimal stops
and eating lunch while driving.

It’s
a gorgeous, sunny day in the 70s when I check in at Canadian Border
Outfitters (CBO) overlooking Moose Lake. Lori shows me the outline
of the Pagami Creek fire, which has expanded about to the bottom of
Lake Three but has not yet reached any of the nearby lakes. After
steak dinner at the lodge I settle into the bunkhouse. I’m
happy to be most of the way through the portal that transports me
from civilization to the real world.